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Monday January 4, 8:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan - The North American Non-Medical Glove Market Ripens Due To Mounting Demands
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapidly expanding industries, such as food services and biotechnology/pharmaceuticals, are demanding gloves like never before. This rising demand will lead to steady growth rates for the non-medical glove market in the next few years.
According to the latest strategic research study by Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com), The North American Non-Medical Glove Market, this market generated $392 million and had an annual growth rate of 4.5 percent in 1997. Frost & Sullivan Medical Analyst Collin Tam identifies the hot market item to be thin-film nitrile gloves. These disposable gloves are only four mil thick and twice as strong and more durable than vinyl or latex disposables that are five mil thick. Best Manufacturing was the first company to enter the market with thin-nitrile gloves. Many other glove companies have been developing their own nitrile disposable gloves and entering this expanding market. According to Tam, ''The challenge is for new and existing companies to enter this booming market. Larger manufacturers need to expand their product line and offer thin-nitrile gloves if they want to remain in the top tier.''
The study is divided into two market segments: non-medical disposable natural rubber latex (NRL) and non-medical disposable synthetic gloves. A greater awareness of allergies that NRL gloves cause has boosted sales for synthetics. Many companies are realizing this trend and shifting their sales and marketing efforts to synthetics instead of natural rubber latex.
However, the Frost & Sullivan study reveals many end users are not interested in particular brand names. End users generally displayed a lack of interest in the material content and protein and powder levels of their gloves. They also expressed little interest in learning more about it. Not surprisingly, virtually all end users showed a great interest in comfort. Many complained about the lack of ventilation, smell, poor fit, and poor tear resistance of their gloves.
U.S. manufacturers are viewing foreign companies as a more daunting competitive challenge. These foreign manufacturers are generally located in Asia, where labor costs are significantly lower than in North America. These companies tend to compete on price and advertise availability, whereas the larger manufacturers are not able to ship products. North American manufacturers have been focusing on improving quality and selling more premium-priced products. The influx of foreign manufacturers has increased price pressure on domestic manufacturers. The challenge for North American manufacturers is to maintain a high level of quality while still remaining competitive in terms of price with foreign manufacturers. As a result, many North American manufacturers have moved their plants to Asia where they can take advantage of the cheap labor and maintain control over quality.
Another key challenge for manufacturers is to develop low-extractable gloves in order to successfully penetrate the cleanroom market. The cleanroom environment requires gloves that meet a certain minimum level of particulates and extractables. Microscopic dust or particulates can damage or contaminate the microelectronic chip or product handled by the end user. The quality of cleanroom gloves is partly determined by the level of extractables on the glove. Many manufacturers favor powdered gloves for their ease of donning and manufacturing. However, the more powder that manufacturers use, the greater the level of extractables on the glove. In order to cater to the special needs of cleanroom environments, manufacturers are producing more gloves without powder.
Market participants include: Allegiance Healthcare, AMMEX Corporation, Ansell Edmont Industrial, AQL, Best Manufacturing Company, Boss Manufacturing, COMASEC Safety, Inc., CT International, Environmental Travellers Gloves, London International U.S. Holdings, Inc., Majestic Glove, Mapa Pioneer, Memphis Glove Company, Microflex, Miller Products Company, Inc., Montgomery Safety Products, MSA, North Safety Products, Oak Technical, Inc., Phoenix Medical Technology, Inc., Playtex Products, Inc., Prospective Industrial Products, Quality Rubber Products (QRP), Safeskin Corporation [Nasdaq:SFSK - news], Steriltx, Techstyles, Inc., Tillotson Healthcare Corporation, Wells Lamont Corporation, Wilshire Technologies, Burham Glove, Ltd., Dot Scientific, Inc., Glove-Up, Inc., Lab Safety Supply Inc., Napa Glove, Ohio Latex Company, Renco Corporation, Superior Glove Works, Ltd., VWR Scientific [Nasdaq:VWRX - news], Canadian Latex Allergy Association, National Industrial , Glove Distributors Association, Allerderm Laboratories, Inc., Alpine Gloves, American Health Products Corporation, Ansell Perry, BioSafety Systems, Inc., Dash Medical Gloves, DePuy, Inc., Digitcare Corporation, First Medica, Fisher Scientific Company, Globe Medical Products, Impact Products, Jason Marketing -- See Medline Industries, Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc., K & M Commercial Supply, Inc., Kendall Healthcare -- See Medline Industries, Liaoning-USA Corporation, Maxxim Medical, Mayer Laboratories, Maytex Corporation, McKesson General Medical, Meditex, Inc., Medline Industries, Inc., Omron Healthcare, Inc., PM Gloves, Inc., Regent Medical, SmartCare Division, Tactyl Technologies -- See Safeskin Corporation, Tradex International, Inc., Tronex International, Uni-Lab, World Medical Supply, Inc., and Worldwide Latex.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors the medical industry for market trends, market measurements, and strategies. The ongoing research is utilized to update a series of research publications such as #5814-51, The U.S. Disposable Medical Glove Markets, #5443-15, The U.S. Non-Disposable Industrial Gloves Market, and #5534-51, The U.S. End User Glove Market to support industry participants with customized consulting needs.
Report: 5343-51 Publication Date: Nov. 1998 Price: $3,450
**Special: With the purchase any two Frost & Sullivan glove reports listed above, receive a $1,000 discount.**
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SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan |
